Kaixi Wang English III IB 7th period

The American Scholar essay In The American Scholars eloquent concluding paragraph, Emerson dwells on the romantic ideal of the individual. The scholar must demonstrate that the United States is not the meek and timid society that it is assumed to be. The scholar has to be courageous, independent, and original; in both thinking and acting. Although the scholar individual should not conform to societys standards, the American Scholar could transform and revolutionize humanity through patience, self-reliance and passion. Although patience is difficult to obtain it can be said that A man who is a master of patience is master of everything else Savile. The American Scholar should be patient of neglect, patient of reproach. Both are what the scholar must encumber on his sojourn to motivate a nation of men who will for the first time exist. The true American scholar must trust himself and resist the pressure to conform to external norms of society which schemes to conspire to defeat self-reliance in its citizens. He/she has to endue hardships that make them want to conform to society but will be for the greater benefit of mankind. Emerson believes that the scholar is the worlds eye, and the worlds heart and whoever should have enough passion to push the envelope in society will succeed. Since the general public is easily influenced by external propaganda as seen in Julius Caesar when the citizens of Rome were easily swayed by just a few words, the scholar does not have such a difficult and unachievable task. He must be patient and achieve his ultimate goal and noblest ambition: to improve human nature by fulfilling individual natures of the world. From self-reliance, the scholar marks a period of growth and evolution into new knowledge in not only himself but the people around him. He should have patience and bear understanding to the men who aspire to be the highest and by giving himself to others instead of serving individual needs, the scholar will achieve his ultimate goal for the benefit of mankind. The scholar could nor revolutionize America without one single characteristic: passion. Passion is what rebuilds the world and makes all dreams reality. It is what makes the world nothing, but the man as all. The scholar must know that he hold in himself all the abilities of the time, the contributions of the past, and all the hopes of the future. In himself, the scholar holds the key to humanity: understanding nature, and he must combine that with his dedication and passion to revolutionize America even if it is just a single person being the catalyst. Passion is also one of if not the greatest motivator of all time. Just watching a man putting passion into what he believes in is noteworthy as itself. Passion can be just as contagious as the flu in the wintertime. It spreads from person to person in society and helps achieve much more than a goal without any zeal. The scholar has enough passion to take risks even if they

Kaixi Wang English III IB 7th period

singlehandedly could fail. Whether the consequences of taking action are good or bad, they will both change the individuals basic self-regard from the triumph of principles. Emerson is not just a romantic idealist when he believes that an individual can influence society. A true American scholar is not afraid to be patient, be self-reliant, and be passionate in what he aspires to alter in society. Since society is quick to follow, the individual scholar does have the ability to revolutionize humanity and create a truly American culture.